It all looked so familiar.  The Giants were trailing the Patriots with the ball with just minutes remaining.  Eli Manning would have to lead an improbable drive down the field to get Big Blue a Vince Lombardi Trophy.  The underdog Giants would have to come from behind to defeat arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, Tom Brady.  The Giants would have to prove all the nay-sayers wrong once again.  Sunday night, Patriots fans had that feeling of deja blue.

Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning would lead another magical drive down the field with the Giants trailing 17-15 and just 3:46 remaining.  The Giants scored a touchdown that was not as memorable as Plaxico Burress’s touchdown in Super Bowl 42, but one that left the same exact feeling in the stomach of Patriots fans.  Ahmad Bradshaw would run it into the endzone with 58 seconds on the clock to give the Giants the lead, 21-17.  The biggest play of the drive came on the very first play.  Pinned back at his own 12 yard line, Manning threw a gorgeous pass to Mario Manningham who made an incredible play to stay in bounds and make the catch at the 50 yard line to give the G-Men great field position.  The Patriots challenged the play and ended up losing a timeout that would have helped in their final drive in the last minute of the game.  The Manningham catch reminded many of the David Tyree catch in Super Bowl 42 off his helmet.  It was the big throw and catch that gave them life and kept the drive going.  The difference between this drive and the drive in Super Bowl 42 was that the Giants made it look much easier last night.  They did not have one third or fourth down on the drive.  The Patriots answer had no answer for Manning and the Giants offense.  Manning found Manningham and Nicks the entire drive wherever and whenever he wanted.  Eli was making passes in his brothers building that we would normally see his brother make.  His throws were as accurate as they could be finding every opening in the Patriots defense.  It was evident that the Pats defense was fatigued as the Giants were finding open receivers on every play.

The Patriots would get the ball back with 58 seconds left and a timeout at their own 20 needing a touchdown to win.  It would end up being too little too late for Bill Belichick’s team.  There would be another deja blue moment on the drive as Justin Tuck would send Brady down on a sack on 3rd and 10 that forced the Patriots to use their final timeout.  That had Giants fans thinking of the sack rookie Jay Alford put on Brady in Super Bowl 42 that would put the Pats away.  It all looked so familiar as the events unfolded.  It seemed to be destiny for the Giants who once again entered the playoffs at 9-7 and made a magical run to a Super Bowl Championship.

Tom Coughlin, the coach on the hot seat just weeks before the playoffs began will now be holding up another Vince Lombardi Trophy in the Canyon of Heroes in the greatest city in the world on Tuesday.  Eli Manning will be holding his second Super Bowl MVP trophy.  Millions of fans will be packed into the streets celebrating another Giants championship.  A team that looked to have the keys to be headed home in December will now be presented with the “Key to the City” Tuesday in what is set to be another memorable parade in New York.

Here are the picks from some of our staff:

Mike Carver
Patriots 27 Giants 20
Belichick & Brady have had 4 years to think about Super Bowl XLII and will be razor sharp focused to pay the G-Men back.

Brandon Contes
Giants 27 Patriots 20
We’ll see more defense than people are expecting, take the under.

Rob Kowal
Giants 41 Patriots 17
Eli will dominate and the Giants front-four will ruin Tom Brady and the Patriots night.

Bill Donohue
Patriots 31 Giants 27
This is like watching a Phillies-Yankees World Series for me…torturous.

Derek Wasiak
Giants 34 Patriots 31 OT
The Giants will become the 1st 9-7 team (400 points allowed, 32nd ranked rushing offense) to win the Super Bowl. Why? They are healthy!

Greg Locke
Giants 27 Patriots 24
See-saw battle ending with a Tynes FG in the waning seconds. Manning MVP.

Adam Kern
Giants 27, Patriots 24
The G-Men’s defense is healthy and clicking, and Eli will lead the way in a tough-fought battle to claim another Super Bowl.

Cody Normand
Patriots 24 Giants 21
The game will come down to a last second Steven Gostkowski field goal to win the game for the Pats.

Ty Hardamon
Giants 31 Patriots 24
G-men will get it done!

Jake Brown
Giants 23 Patriots 20
Game winning field goal by Tynes will win it; Eli gets MVP.

Joe Gucciardo
Giants 27 Patriots 17
The Giants offense is much more explosive than it was four years ago, and Patriots are not even close to the their 18-1 team that same season.

Should be great game! Be sure to tune in to SPORTSTALK1240 after the game (airing from 9:00pm to 11:00pm this and every Sunday night!), and call us with your thoughts on the outcome. Remember, you can listen live online while watching WGBB’s studio webcam by simply linking to http://webcam.sportsradiony.com!

The New York Giants arrived in Indianapolis yesterday to get ready for the Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots. What to expect from Eli and company? Obviously, winning is the expectation, but to do that Eli is going to have to continue to play strong as he did against San Francisco, Green Bay, Atlanta, and Dallas.

The defense must continue to play strong as well. I don’t know if the Jets put confidence in the Giants, but the defense has played well ever since that week 16 New York rivalry game at the Meadowlands. The Giants defense is so confident that Safety Antrel Rolle predicted this week that his Giants would win the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady’s bunch will be in revenge mode to take back what happened in 2008. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said this week that his team “isn’t taking this as a revenge game.” Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork agreed that this isn’t a “revenge game.” I find that hard to believe, that is easy to say to the camera, I’m pretty sure that Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork are definitely going to play in revenge mode. How many times in sports does a team get to get revenge at playing that same team in their career for another championship?

The Patriots have two chips of revenge on their shoulders, the Giants beat them in the super bowl and the Giants beat them earlier this year on their home turf of Gillette Field. Tom Brady does not want Eli Manning to beat him again.

I compare this Super Bowl rematch to the 2011 NBA championship, when the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat matched up- a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals. I’m pretty sure Mavericks Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki had a bit of revenge on their mind, because they were playing Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat. They had a chance to get that golden trophy in Miami and they did. For the Patriots, the teams have changed a bit, but you don’t forget what happened in 2008. I’m pretty sure Dirk Nowitzki didn’t forget 2006.

The New York Giants must take this game very carefully. It’s not easy to beat Tom Brady’s Patriots. Expect not only Tom Brady to give everything he’s got, you can count on the entire Patriots team to bring it. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be easy? That remains to be seen.

The New York Knicks are at home tonight to take on the lowly Detroit Pistons. If you had asked me at the beginning of the season about this game, I would have told you that it would be a definite win for the Knicks. If you ask me that question right now, and I’m going to have to say this is a toss-up. The Detroit Pistons are 4-18, while the Knicks aren’t that much better at 7-13.

What is wrong with the Knicks? In my last article about the Knicks, I talked about the Knicks being hopeful that the year 2012 would bring them joy and happiness. This season has been anything but joy and happiness. It’s been disappointing, and at times down right dreadful. The Knicks have currently lost 3 straight games and are a whopping 1-9 in there last ten. There have been rumors about some Knicks fans out there now regret the Carmelo Anthony trade.

So what’s the problem? Is it Carmelo Anthony? Is it Amar’e Stoudemire? Is it Tyson Chandler? Is it Mike D’Antoni? Is it the point guard position that many of us pointed to at the beginning of the season as a potential flaw? I think it is a mixture of Mike D’Antoni’s offense and the lack of a viable guard to run the point.

When D’Antoni arrived in New York he was leaving a future hall of fame point guard in Steve Nash out in Phoenix. Since he has been here, his best point guard that he has had was Raymond Felton. Felton was a good player but he was no Steve Nash. Knicks fans are hoping that once Baron Davis gets healthy, he will be able to play at the elite level he played at in Golden State, Los Angeles, and somewhat last year in Cleveland.

Another problem has been the lockout. The Knicks have played 20 games, which mean only 46 games are left in the season. The Knicks need to start playing better basketball as soon as possible, or expect even more changes this offseason.

If the Knicks don’t make the playoffs with at least a six seed, this season will be a disappointment. If they make it as the seven or eight seed, there is a good assumption that they won’t get far because they will most likely be taking on the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls- who clearly are the top two teams in the eastern conference.

The solution is easy, win, win games New York. This is New York, signing Amar’e and Chandler, and trading for Melo will mean nothing if you all can’t even be competitive. Get it together New York!

Eli Manning in Shotgun Formation; Photo by Rajiv Patel

Finally we have a Manning playing in Lucas Oil Stadium.  Strangely, this Manning wears #10, not #18. Eli Manning has earned the right to play in Super Bowl XLIV, almost killing the discussion that he is the second Manning on the depth chart.

The late Giant run has been inspiring and exciting. Coach Tom Coughlin officially removed the Bunsen burner from his chair, and used it to illuminate his path to Canton, Ohio.

Victor Cruz has been nothing short from amazing. Simple as that! Undrafted, pulled up from the practice squad, only to allow the salsa dancing wide out to finish both third in receiving yards (1,536) and yards per reception this season (18.7).

Manning has showed that he no longer casts in the shadows of his older brother. Heck, he has done things nobody has, let alone is brother, since 1966. Manning has three straight games with 275 pass yards and multiple touchdowns in a single postseason.

This past Sunday, Manning set a record for road playoff wins by a quarterback. Manning stands at five, while bunkmate Mark Sanchez has four … who would have thought that huh?

“I knew there was a shot. We have talent on this team; we have guys who are committed to being good. It’s just a matter of, ‘Can we put it all together? Can we play our best football at the right time? And that’s just what’s happened,” Manning said Monday in an interview on ESPN New York 1050’s “The Michael Kay Show.”

The Giants are loaded with talent. They have three quality defensive ends, usually only two on the field at a time, but Justin Tuck has earned sacks as a defensive tackle. Wide out Hakeem Nicks has the hand size of Andre The Giant, which means he could catch a football with WD40 on his hands.

The Giants will win on February 5^th. In the back of the mind of Manning holds the whispers from the epic 07 season. Critics uttered that it was luck for the Giants to stand with the Lombardi trophy. The respect was not given and I’m sure Manning remembers that. Pretty soon he will have defeated arguably the two best quarterbacks of the last decade, brother Peyton Manning and opponent Tom Brady on the same day on the road. What will people say then? He is the Ultimate Road Warrior?

What year is it? Is it 2008? The New York Giants and the New England Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, so it must be 2008; wait that Super Bowl already happened! It’s 2012 and Giants/Patriots part two. There are a few tweaks this time around: the Patriots aren’t undefeated, David Tyree no longer plays with the Giants, Randy Moss is no longer with the Patriots, and Plaxico Burress plays for that other New York team.

The Giants are headed to the Super Bowl on a 5-game winning streak. They have defeated the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons, Packers, and 49ers. On this current path, the Giants defense has been tremendous. It all started against the Jets, when the Giants defense made it very difficult for Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Some Jets players criticized Mark Sanchez for his play in that game. They then played a depleted Cowboys team hanging on for dear life, and capitalized on every mistake the Cowboys made. They then shutout Matt Ryan’s pesky Falcons team, overthrew the defending champion Packers and made the final punch against a young talented 49ers team. They now need to do what many saw was unthinkable and finish off the Patriots as they did earlier in the season in Foxboro, and as they did in that unbelievable Super Bowl back in 2008.

Will this game against the Patriots be tough? You better believe it, Tom Brady is certainly no a fan of the Giants, who ruined Brady’s perfect 2007 season, and ruined his 20 game home win streak in Foxboro earlier this season. We know Brady’s Bunch will be in revenge mode and try to make it extremely tough for Eli Manning’s group. It seems that pressure doesn’t bother Eli Manning or the Giants. They squeaked into the playoffs on the regular season’s final day of football, they were heavy underdogs against both the Packers, and 49ers. They don’t panic, and never give up and they have the hearts of champions and will be looking to once again to disturb Tom Brady from getting another Super Bowl ring.

The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 5th in Indianapolis. All will be on the line as America and the world will be watching at what many expect to be another classic Super Bowl Sunday.

No team is riding high like the New York football Giants are right now.  This team has all the confidence and motivation in the world.  They beat the Jets to stay alive in the playoff race.  They beat the Cowboys to win the NFC East and host a playoff home game.  They crushed the Falcons in the playoffs with their defense not giving up a point.  If that was not enough, they went into the frozen tundra in Green Bay Sunday and defeated the 15-1 Packers, who had one of the best regular seasons in the history of the NFL.

The Gmen are playing the best defense we have seen them play all year and they are doing it at the perfect time.  The offense is playing tremendous as Eli Manning continues to show the world that he is indeed an elite NFL quarterback.  Manning went out and beat Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl MVP and arguably the best quarterback this season.  Many thought it would be a close game, but the Giants had a dominant performance never trailing.  They went into the half with a 20-10 lead thanks to an unbelievable last second hail mary to the endzone from Manning to Hakeem Nicks for 37 yards.  The play helped send the Giants to the locker room with all the motivation they needed to get to San Francisco. They pulled away in the fourth quarter scoring two touchdowns and putting the game out of reach for the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers.

The Giants will now travel to San Francisco in the NFC Championship to play a 49ers team that has been surprising everyone with their defense, which has been one of the best in the league.  Alex Smith made a name for himself in the victory over the Saints leading not one, but two fourth quarter drives for touchdowns that helped the 49ers top Drew Brees and the Saints.  Coming into the year, all the talk was how Alex Smith has been a major bust and would never be a good quarterback.  All that talk has been put aside as Smith had a solid season and an unbelievable playoff performance.  The Giants lost earlier in the season at San Francisco in a very close game, 27-20 and looks for revenge Sunday night.  The last time the Giants played the 49ers in the playoffs, it was a game that all Giants fans want to forget.  The Giants blew a 38-14 lead in that game in the playoffs in 2003 and lost 39-38. It was one of the biggest collapses in football history.

This run that the Giants are on right now brings back the memories of the 2007-2008 Giants team.  Big Blue came into the playoffs with all the momentum they needed and went out and beat the Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Packers all on the road to get to the Super Bowl.  Giants fans are feeling nostalgic as one cannot help but look back at that team and their magical run ending with a Super Bowl win over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.  There is a chance we might just see Brady face off against Manning again come February.  If the Giants can contain Frank Gore and the 49ers rushing attack and play the defense we have seen in this playoff run so far, Tom Coughlin and the Giants might just be headed to Indianapolis to fight for another Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Giants have all the confidence in the world right now.  They went out and beat the Cowboys at home to get into the playoffs.  Then they went out and crushed the Falcons, 24-2 with the defense shutting out Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense.  Now, they travel to Green Bay to face the defending champion Packers at the frozen tundra.  In early December, the Giants played their hearts out nearly defeating the undefeated Packers at the time.  They came back to tie the game with just 58 seconds left, but MVP Aaron Rodgers would lead the Packers down the field for a game winning field goal.  In the Packers 15 wins this season, the Giants gave them the closest game all season.  The Packers are very well rested as they essentially have had nearly two weeks off as their starters did not play all of week 17 against the Lions.  If the Giants defense can play the way they did against the Falcons, next Sunday at Lambeau Field is sure to be a colossal matchup.

The key to this game will be the pressure the Giants can put on Rodgers.  The Packers have had tons of success all season throwing the football and that Giants defensive line needs to attack Rodgers and give him no time to throw.  The Giants have that ability as we saw their defense completely dominate the Falcons in every fashion on Sunday.  That defensive line led by Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora are going to need to come after the superstar Packers quarterback.  Also, the Giants need to use running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw the way we saw against the Falcons.  When playing well, the running backs complement each other as one of the best pairs in the league.  The Giants rushing game was dominant running for a combined 172 yards.  We have seen how clutch Eli Manning can be in the clutch, but the key is for the Giants to be able to be effective on the ground allowing Manning to hit one of his many targets in Manningham, Cruz, Nicks, and Ballard.

The Giants confidence is high right now and Sunday we will find out if the Giants can have a repeat of last time they came to Green Bay in the playoffs.  I think all Giants fans remember what happened on that night four years ago….

Once again the Nets are at the center of trade rumors. This time DeMarcus Cousins is the target, but what are the chances he joins the team? The answer is slim to none.

Nets GM Billy King knows he must do everything in his power to keep superstar guard Deron Williams happy and lock him up for the trip to Brooklyn and beyond. To keep the current face of the franchise the Nets must win now and surround Williams with more talent.

Cousins is a talented rebounder and good inside post scorer, but his immaturity and public disputes with the Sacramento Kings have proven that he’s a head case. This is the second incident involving Cousins’ lack of discipline after he was kicked out of practice by the team last season.

King and the Nets are better served putting all their eggs into the Dwight Howard basket. The Nets can offer young talent, expiring contracts, draft picks, and are willing to absorb players like Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon to facilitate a deal.

This is a developing story that will surround the team until the trade dealine.

Follow me on Twitter: @MikeAScotto

Henrik Lundqvist stops Daniel Briere on a penalty shot.

In a thrilling game yesterday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the New York Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for the third time in as many meetings this season by a final score of 3-2 in the fifth annual Winter Classic. The Rangers went down 2-0, before two goals by Mike Rupp tied it up. Then late in the third period, off-season free agent signee Brad Brad Richards scored what turned out to be the game winning goal to secure the Rangers victory.

What made the game so exciting was the controversial ending. A controversy that despite a Rangers win, led Rangers head coach John Tortorella to yap after the game.

“I’m not sure if NBC got together with the refs and wanted to turn this into an overtime game,” Tortorella said after the game.

Here are my thoughts on the wild ending to the game:

• The Delay of Game penalty on McDonaugh was one of the worst I’ve seen in the history of the NHL. I don’t know how the referee could have possibly missed that.
• Even though with 4 seconds left on that powerplay, the referee blew the whistle when play CLEARLY should have continued; in a sense it evened things out because the Flyers didn’t deserve to be on that power play in the first place.
• Shortly after that Rangers forward Marian Gaborik broke in on Philadelphia net-minder Sergei Bobrovsky. Flyers’ defeseman Kimmo Timonen should have been called for hooking. Granted, I’m not a big fan of the hooking rule now-a-days, and I wish what Timonen did was ALWAYS legal, but based on what I’ve seen watching hockey (and I watch a lot), the referees should have absolutely called that a hooking. It was a textbook hook. I’ve seen much less called before.

When New York forward Ryan Callahan was taken down, the fact that they called a diving on Callahan as well was absurd for two reasons:

• Callahan had a hockey stick wrapped around his neck. I don’t care who you are as a human being (Chuck Norris, Jesus Christ, etc.), when someone wraps a stick around your neck and you are skating at full speed, it is going to bring you down to the ice every time.
• On the play earlier on the Flyers power play, when the ref blew the play dead, I don’t know if anyone noticed, but the ref actually stumbled on the ice which at that point was becoming horrific to play on. If the referee is falling down and he is untouched, then how can you blame Callahan for embellishing when he had a stick wrapped around his throat?

It was hard to tell if McDonagh put the hand over the puck in the crease. It wasn’t conclusive from any camera angles. I would be surprised if the ref was able to see clearly that the puck was covered.

Although it could be argued that Tortorella shouldn’t complain after a win, if he complained after a loss it would be looked at as “just another excuse.” Coaches should express complaints (especially if they are valid) win or lose.

Overall it was a very exciting game, and surely the bulk of fans are looking forward to the final installment of 24/7- which should be most enjoyable for the Rangers as well.

The New York Knicks are 1-2 and will take on the Kings tonight in Sacramento. Is the Knicks 1-2 start reason for concern? Not really. For about the first month or so of basketball, every team in the NBA will look a bit sluggish. Let’s not forget there was basically no preseason due to the lockout leading to this shortened season.

Newly acquired center Tyson Chandler is still getting aclimated with the team. The Knicks have a really big group with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudamire, and Tyson Chandler. Amare and Carmelo did not get to really gel last season, but Knicks fans are hoping that they can all come together quickly with Chandler.

The season short but the Knicks are young, and Chandler brings the defensive intensity that the Knicks haven’t had in a while. Knicks fans are hoping that Chandler will bring in the defensive tenacity that he helped bring the Dallas Mavericks there first championship in franchise history.

With the talent that the Knicks have, most fans believe that they should be a top 3 seed in the eastern conference. Miami and Boston are the two other teams who have a good shot at contending out east. Knicks fans hope to get a good win against Sacramento, and then start the new year right with a win against the Toronto Raptors.

The big 3 will lead the way for the Knicks. It is up to the supporting cast to help out those 3 on a consistent basis for the Knicks to have a great NBA season.

What will the New Year bring for the New York Giants? Well, for one thing, we know that as of tomorrow the Giants will be either undefeated in 2012, or will have one loss. It is the first game of the 2012 calendar year for the Giants and so much is at stake. A win for the Giants means an NFC East division title and a trip to the playoffs, a loss, means they don’t win the division, a possible firing of head coach Tom Coughlin, and a long painful spring and summer ahead.

What do the Giants need to do to beat the Cowboys tomorrow? The defense must play well; they cannot allow Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to have the kind of game that he had just 3 weeks ago. Although the Giants won that thrilling game in Dallas, this game will be different. Playoffs teams must play good defense, they cannot allow the Cowboys to gain nearly 450 yards of offense. If they do, the Giants will be in trouble.
One would think that with the Giants playing at home, they would have the advantage. The Giants are a disappointing 3-4 at home this season, and will hope to improve to 4-4 to go into the playoffs.

Giants pro bowl quarterback Eli Manning is going to have to continue to play well for the Giants to get the win. Giants’ fans do not need the Giants to have an outing like they had against Washington a couple weeks ago. They need a strong front from the offense and the defense. Eli Manning is the leader of the offense and Jason Pierre-Paul has emerged as the leader of the defense, and it seems that both of them love playing the Cowboys.
It is really simple, win and you’re in, let’s hope the Giants get this thing done and bring in a nice welcoming start into the year 2012.